[SpringsSong]

I spent a good five minutes reiterating to my husband that I was right, and that the data mine of the demo was also right.  I also spent a good five-ish minutes expressing my happiness over Incineroar being Fire/Dark--he was thinking that Nintendo would regress into their old ways and make it Fire/Fighting, with how it looked.

I have to admit, the change for Decidueye (anyone have any theories on how the hey to pronounce that?) from Grass/Flying to Grass/Ghost was an interesting decision.  I certainly didn't see that one coming.

Totally called Primarina being Water/Fairy. XD ...I may need all three of these starters, RIP.

I also definitely need the Tapus.  They all look awesome.

[zapdragon555]

Decidueye is a mix of Deciduous and Eye! So it would probably be pronounced. "dee-SIH-djyoo-eye."

[ToxicShadow]

So I'm incredibly disappointed that, AGAIN, the adorable fire starter ends up looking like an awkward anthro in its final form. I was desperately wishing it would grow up a big panther or lion thing on all four legs, but nope. I'll still be getting Litten to start with, because fire starters is a tradition with me, but I may stop its evolution after its second form. xD

Also, am I the only one dying over the fact that the majority of Primarina, being a Starter, will be male? They'll be such fabulous seal-mermen. xD

[Thunder]

I for one love Incineroar's design, especially seeing it in motion. It combines the concepts of a fire tiger and wrestler really well and they infused it with so much personality in its animations. Its description also just makes me love it even more. I mean, how can you hate on this?

When it receives the admiration of young Pokémon and children, it may keep up its cold attitude on the outside, but in its heart of hearts, Incineroar is immensely happy. It loses the desire to fight when faced with a Pokémon that’s clearly weak or injured, and it sometimes gets taken advantage of as a result.

That being said, I'm sticking with Decidueye (ugh that name doesn't roll off the tongue well) cause archer owl <3 And the reason why it is ghost is probably because barn owls are also known as ghost owls and have connections with spirits and omens in certain cultures.

[Silver]

I for one love Incineroar's design, especially seeing it in motion. It combines the concepts of a fire tiger and wrestler really well and they infused it with so much personality in its animations. Its description also just makes me love it even more. I mean, how can you hate on this?

Yes! I love how much personality Incineroar has!

I'm sticking with Popplio/Primarina. I actually really like Primarina, and am really glad cute little Popplio didn't turn out to be a creepy clown!

I am hyped for this game! Which is not something that usually happens to me. I love the new forms, and the new region, and the new Pokémon! I love everything. I'm ridiculously excited. More than I have been for any Pokémon game since the remakes of Gold/Silver.

[Skeetzybug]

That being said, I'm sticking with Decidueye (ugh that name doesn't roll off the tongue well) cause archer owl <3 And the reason why it is ghost is probably because barn owls are also known as ghost owls and have connections with spirits and omens in certain cultures.

Actually, Decidueye is Ghost because it's based off of the Stilt Owls - a group Hawaiian native owls which are unfortunately long extinct. The most well-known illustration of this subspecies of owl is below, and you can REALLY see the resemblance between it and the Pokemon counterpart! So while the barn owl myths are possibly an additional contributor to the decision, the main reason to go Ghost was probably as a nod to the extinction of these awesome Hawaiian birds.

In addition, Rowlet is based off of the Hawaiian barn owl, which is pretty common but is actually an invasive species. Meanwhile Dartrix is theorized to be based off of the Pueo owl, which is considered endangered. This would make the line go Common to Threatened to Extinct, which while clever is also a kind of sad thing!

[GrayGriffin]

Oh man, so much cool stuff in this gen! I really love Type: Null/Silvally as well.

[Citanul]

I'm mildly disappointed with the starters to be honest. Fire/Dark is great but we already have plenty of wrestling/luchador pokemon. The owl is neat, I'll give it that, but the poor amount of male water ballerinas/clowns will be disheartening.

However! I did find out our local Gamestop got the go-ahead from corporate to do a midnight release. So I will be getting mine and my husband's at midnight. That will be great.

I'm slightly mad at myself because I haven't kept up with the demo. I'll still get the Ash-Greninja but I'm sure I missed some other cool stuff.

[GrayGriffin]

What's wrong with male Primarina? No seriously, what's wrong with it? Do you also hate female Machamp and male Gardevoir and peacocks? Why do Pokemon even have to adhere to human gender roles? Not to mention that male ballerinas actually exist, for crying out loud. Heck, according to one biologist, if anything male Primanrinas should have even more frills.

[zapdragon555]

Male Gardevoirs are my life ;m; I've been looking for a shiny male to name Yoite for forever.
But yeah I'm also happy about the male ballerina seals. Plus it works the same for Sylveon.

[ToxicShadow]

I don't think anyone was saying that they hate male Primarinas. It's more like, there aren't male "prima ballerinas," as the Pokemon is named after, it's a term only for women. It also makes people think, "mermaid," and very few ever think of the concept, "merman." It's not so much as anything is wrong with it, it's just ironic that the chances of it being male are so high. (And it probably doesn't help that it's two previous forms are more clown-like and then, suddenly, oh, pretty mermaid ballerina! It kind of throws people for a loop.)

[Citanul]

....Yeah, what Toxic said. Please don't jump down my throat. I'm not a bigot, I'm not saying males can't be pretty or frilly or anything of the sort. Prima Ballerina, yes are only female. So it just didn't make a hell of a lot of sense to me, to turn from clown into mermaid/ballerina thing. I just don't like the design.

Female Machamp is one I think would be fun for them to do a gender difference for. Wouldn't even have to be more feminine, just different/unique to the males.

[Kyrit]

To be fair, Primarina's Japanese name is Ashirene. Which according to Bulbapedia, "may be a combination of 海驢 ashika (sea lion) and sirène (French for mermaid and Siren). " Which is a lot more fitting of its Z-move, "Oceanic Operetta." The appearance will always be a little odd considering the mostly male populace, but yeah. We have had plenty of those sort of pokemon. I mean. Poor female Alakazams grow beards when they mega evolve. XD

Rowlet and its evo line is still my fave though (even if it goes through those awkward teen years). At least I can name him Robinhoot since the name wasn't real.

[GrayGriffin]

I don't think anyone was saying that they hate male Primarinas. It's more like, there aren't male "prima ballerinas," as the Pokemon is named after, it's a term only for women. It also makes people think, "mermaid," and very few ever think of the concept, "merman." It's not so much as anything is wrong with it, it's just ironic that the chances of it being male are so high. (And it probably doesn't help that it's two previous forms are more clown-like and then, suddenly, oh, pretty mermaid ballerina! It kind of throws people for a loop.)

Really? Its second stage seems to be a pretty obvious transition into the ballerina form, with the skirts and all.

[ToxicShadow]

Ruffles, in spite of being moved down, can still be reminiscent of a clown outfit, yes. At least, it's still that way, for me. The very round nose definitely still makes "clown," stick out more than "ballerina."

Others would argue that even Brionne is too feminine, but it's only when it has finally evolved into Primarina that I find it a little too much. When it looks more like a mermaid, with long hair, decorated with pearls and other hair accessories, yeah, it just strikes distinctly feminine to me. There is nothing wrong with the design, it's adorable! But, yes, it's my opinion that it is ironic that they chose to make a starter, with such a larger ratio of being male than female, so typically feminine by human player standards. If maybe it didn't have the pearls and starfish positioned like a hair clip, it wouldn't look quite SO feminine. It'd be a little more in between. But, again, I like the design, itself.

It's not the first time that a Pokemon has looked distinctly more like one gender, so it's not like it's a surprise or that I hate it, but what is wrong with finding it an ironic choice for a starter? There's nothing wrong with having a different opinion. Those that like it, can like it, those that dislike it, can dislike it. Neither party is wrong, it's just a matter of personal taste. Same as simply choosing which starter you prefer. I think Litten is the cutest of the three starters, but I like Decidueye best, out of the final evolutions.I doubt everyone has those exact same opinions.

I mean, I have a sassy male, bisexual Sylveon, so whatever works for you, well, works for you, but maybe not everyone else. For me, I typically end up giving my Pokemon characters, same way I do Evelon pets (humanoid forms and all). If I had a male Primarina, he'd probably be a cross dresser, to be honest, but that's just how I'd roll with it.